


Working Relationship

by Jain



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 2, Community: purimgifts, Elevators, Gen, POV Third Person, Past Tense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-21
Updated: 2013-02-21
Packaged: 2017-12-03 04:58:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/694420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jain/pseuds/Jain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Of all the people to get stuck in an elevator with," Pepper thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Working Relationship

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Arsenic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arsenic/gifts).



_Of all the people to get stuck in an elevator with_ , Pepper thought, just after the usually exquisitely smooth and fast elevator in the Stark Industries building let out a wheezing sigh and came to an unexpected stop. Natalie may have been helpful in Monaco, but she and Pepper weren't cordial, let alone anything friendlier than that; the longest conversation they'd managed to date had lasted perhaps five minutes.

Still, as awkward as this situation was, at least they _had_ come to some sort of understanding regarding their respective roles at Stark Industries. And while she was on the topic of things to be grateful for, at least there were still lights and air conditioning. They might be trapped in a small metal box, but at least they could be somewhat comfortable.

Pepper glanced at her watch. She'd give it a minute or two before contacting maintenance, in case it was just some sort of glitch that they--or Tony's software itself--were already correcting. She turned to Natalie to share that info, only to be arrested by the curiously intent expression on Natalie's face as she studied their surroundings.

Natalie's eyes flicked from door to walls to ceiling to floor, and Pepper felt an unwilling stab of sympathy. "Are you claustrophobic?" she asked gently.

"What?" Natalie asked, sounding distracted, and then her eyes focused on Pepper rather than the elevator and she gave a short laugh. "No."

It didn't sound as though she were lying, and in any case they didn't know each other well enough for Pepper to press her further, but it was also obvious that _something_ was wrong. "I'm going to call the maintenance crew, see how long they think this'll take," she said in a firmer tone, abandoning her previous plan.

Natalie nodded, and Pepper took the two brief steps to the elevator's control panel and pressed the emergency call button. "Hello? This is Pepper Potts. Mr. Stark's assistant and I are trapped in elevator D, between the fourteenth and fifteenth floors." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Natalie type a quick message on her cellphone and then slide the phone back into her pocket before she resumed charting the elevator with her eyes.

"Ma'am," a voice said promptly, familiar sounding but not immediately identifiable. "I'm sorry, but Mr. Stark was updating the building's power grid and inadvertently knocked several sub-systems offline. He's at work fixing the problem right now. Did you want me to page him for you?"

"To whom am I speaking?" Pepper said in lieu of a response.

"Frank McGuire, ma'am." An image flashed into Pepper's mind: middle-aged man with light hair and a better than average musculature, wife and twin baby girls.

"Oh, of course. I knew I recognized your voice. Well, Frank, I think that if Mr. Stark knew that the CEO of his company and his personal assistant were trapped in an elevator, he might decide to do something heroic but faintly ridiculous such as fly up the elevator shaft to rescue us, when his time would really better be spent fixing the power. For now, just tell him that a couple of employees are stuck between floors and would appreciate his making the elevators one of his top priorities."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll do that right away."

"I appreciate it, Frank. Keep me updated with any new developments."

"Will do," he promised, and Pepper disengaged the call.

She gave Natalie an apologetic smile. "Sorry about this. Tony's supposed to clear all major renovations and improvements with me first, but his definition of the word 'major' is a bit skewed."

"I understand," Natalie said coolly, and Pepper frowned to herself. Natalie really _wasn't_ claustrophobic--there was no way she could be that calm if she were--but there was also a strange tension in her that Pepper had never seen before.

Natalie's phone buzzed; she took it out of her pocket, read her new text message, and put it away again.

"Everything okay?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah, it's fine," Natalie said. She looked around the elevator as though she were waking up, and as though she hadn't recently given all appearance of memorizing its dimensions to the millimeter. "How long do you think this'll take?"

Pepper sighed. "Knowing Tony...there's no knowing. If it's an easy fix, we could be on our way in the next couple of minutes. If he really made a mess, though, then it could be an hour or more. How are you with heights? If it seems like he's taking too long, the easiest way to get out of here probably _is_ to hitch a ride with Tony through the elevator shaft."

Natalie smiled. "Heights aren't a problem for me. In the meantime, maybe we could get more comfortable?" She gestured to the floor.

"God, yes," Pepper said and slipped off her high heels before sitting down, her back against the elevator wall and her legs stretched out in front of her. Natalie followed her example, leaning against the opposite wall so that they were facing each other.

They stared at each other in silence for a moment--their relationship hadn't exactly prepared them for small talk when forced into close proximity--and then Natalie shrugged. "Since we're stuck here anyway, do you want to get some work done? I have a few papers that need your signature."

She snapped her folder open and offered it to Pepper, who took it automatically, surprised at the sudden rush of warmth she felt towards Natalie. They might never be friends, but if this moment was any indication, they'd probably be able to work together just fine.


End file.
